October, 2017

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Chairs are Dead—and Other B2B Marketing Hogwash

Pointclear

In 2015, I wrote this blog for Sales & Marketing Magazine: Dead is Dead (in Sales & Marketing). It seemed like, suddenly, a lot of things were dying: cold calling was dead; telephone prospecting was dead; outbound marketing was dead … many said that even marketing was dead. Maybe I was just sensitive. I mean, I grew up at a time when Paul McCartney was supposedly dead (he, thankfully, lives on).

B2B 156
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Sales and Super Mario

Anthony Cole Training

Last week, my fiancé and I were gifted a new Super Nintendo Classic with all the originals preloaded- Donkey Kong Country, Street Fighter, Zelda and of course, Super Mario World. Now I realize only a certain group reading this will know the exact system I am referring to but my theory still applies to Atari lovers, Gameboy enthusiasts and even those of you who know nothing about gaming and gaming consoles.

Gaming 122
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Trending Sources

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5 Hardest Things in Conversion Optimization

ConversionXL

Conversion optimization is hard; it’s constantly changing and you need to know a lot about a lot. Keeping up with the technology changes and managing business’ expectations can be tricky. Here’s what some of the top experts in the field are saying about the top challenges in conversion optimization. #1 Having to be an expert in many things. CRO is multidisciplinary and cross-functional.

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9 Reasons Why Salespeople Lack the Urgency Necessary to Succeed

Membrain

I was in the right-hand lane of very slow moving traffic because of a lane closure ahead, marked by orange cones. I was along side the cones in the lane where traffic was merging left. All of a sudden, a police siren and flashing lights were upon me but I had nowhere to go.

Sales 98
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How to Improve Email Deliverability and Optimize Each Send

Learn how to optimize email deliverability and drive greater email ROI. What lands your email in the customer’s inbox? Understanding those factors, otherwise known as email deliverability, is critical to getting the most return on your campaign investments. But the “rules” around which factors land you in the spam folder aren’t always easy to keep up with.

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The 30+ Most Desirable Sales Skills & Traits You MUST Develop To Become An Unstoppable Rep

Sales Hacker

Modern sales teams need competent professionals with a variety of talents, skills and abilities. But in a hyper changing landscap e, which are the most crucial sales skills and traits that reps must possess (or develop) in order to exceed targets and deliver consistent sales success? We’ve done our research and compiled the top 30 sales skills you need to master if you want to achieve complete sales enlightenment.

Negotiate 102
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13 Email Examples That Totally Nailed Personalization

Hubspot

If you're anything like most people, you can probably rattle off 100 different things you'd rather do than dig through your inbox. It starts to feel like a chore, because what's in there isn't very interesting. In fact, only 21% of consumers reported that they've received a memorable promotional email in the past two months, according to a study by Litmus.

More Trending

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How Great Salespeople Continue to Learn and Earn

Anthony Cole Training

When I Googled ‘Keys to Great Sales Success’ here are some of the links I found interesting:

Sales 123
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Using Dual Process Theory for Higher Conversions

ConversionXL

Designing your website requires a studied understanding of human behavior if you want to increase your conversions. Using psychological tactics in your design to appeal to potential customers can help do this, but you must first know how users’ decisions are made. Daniel Kahneman presents two thought systems that can give marketers a framework for how to target their ideal clients through site design and get a major uplift in conversions.

Process 92
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When The Manager Is The Problem Performer

Partners in Excellence

Every organization has challenges with problem performers. However, too few address these performance issues–at least until the impact of the problem performance is devastating to the organization. A problem sales person can, easily, have an adverse impact of over a million dollars. The “cost” is not just the lost opportunity in their own territories, but the drag they create on their peers and managers has an impact, as well.

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The 5 Biggest Differences Between Top and Bottom B2B Sales Performers

Adaptive Business Services

Have you ever wondered why there seems to be such a large gap between the top sales performers and the bottom ones? Why do some sales reps hit their quotas effortlessly while others struggle and lag behind? Being good at sales is a skill. It takes discipline, hard work and often natural talent. Some people are just born good salespeople, while others need to work at it.

B2B 91
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Brick & Mortar Retail Relevance: How to Stay Ahead of the Curve

Speaker: Jay Black, Senior Account Executive

Let's set the record straight: in-store retail isn't dead - it's evolving! Faced with the digital age and the demands of omnichannel shopping, some retailers are thriving while others are struggling to adapt. Join Jay Black in this exclusive session as he explores the strategies that set successful stores apart, including: Crafting unique and unforgettable in-store experiences 🛍️ Mastering the art of retail demands 🛒 Navigating inventory challenges in today's climate 📦 an

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Brand Strategy 101: 7 Essentials for Strong Company Branding

Hubspot

Let's say you've come to the difficult realization that quite frankly your brand -- if you can even call it that -- is all over the place. Or perhaps worse, you have a defined brand, but you're noticing that it just doesn't seem to mesh with who you really are and what you really do. Don't panic. Before you get all hung up on what shade of green to use for your logo or what tone you're going to use when engaging with people on Twitter, you need to step back and take a look at the big picture.

Represent 101
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I’ve Been Negligent

A Sales Guy

I know, I know, I haven’t posted a blog post in over 2 weeks. I think this is a record for the longest stint without a post. Why? Why has it been so long? I could give you a million reasons, but the truth is I just haven’t been inspired. I like to offer value to the readers of this blog, and I just haven’t felt it lately. I’ve been writing on A Sales Guy for almost 9 years.

Sales 84
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Operations problem solving: how to start and finish backwards

InsightSquared

Guest blog by Joe Rodden, Sales Systems Manager at Catalant Technologies. It’s nearing the end of your company’s fiscal year, the sales team is gearing up for another year end close, holiday parties are being planned, and your leadership team is determining 2018 initiatives. These initiatives will likely trickle down into your lap in the form of a whole heaping of new projects, sometimes with little more than a one sentence headline.

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Is bad sales logic destroying your profit?

Membrain

There is an epidemic in the sales industry, and it’s destroying profits. Year after year, sales effectiveness continues to decline, and while the causes are many and complex, there is one big problem that is causing way more trouble than it should.

Sales 87
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How to Stay Competitive in the Evolving State of Martech

Marketing technology is essential for B2B marketers to stay competitive in a rapidly changing digital landscape — and with 53% of marketers experiencing legacy technology issues and limitations, they’re researching innovations to expand and refine their technology stacks. To help practitioners keep up with the rapidly evolving martech landscape, this special report will discuss: How practitioners are integrating technologies and systems to encourage information-sharing between departments and pr

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Why Do Salespeople Use Facts and Logic to Combat Objections?

Understanding the Sales Force

Image Copyright iStock Photos. The easy answer to the title question is that they have been trained to do that since they first arrived at sales kindergarten. Whether talking points, bullet points, inarguable facts, competitive differences, ROI, value proposition, brand promise or cost of ownership, these words and phrases have been reinforced since day 1.

Up-sell 82
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Why Relationships Are Key To Success in Sales (And How To Build Them Using Social Media)

SalesforLife

Serious question: how well do you think you could function in sales today without the technology and automation that is available? According to a study done by Linkedin this year, sales tech is used by over 91% of all sales people (and only 2% of the top sales performers in the world don’t use it). I’m certainly a fan of it myself, and use a number of digital tools to manage my own sales process for ATP (more on that later).

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5 Effective Sales Prospecting Techniques You Should Be Using

Hubspot

Though many salespeople despise prospecting, it’s an important part of sales. Unfortunately, the majority of reps use ineffective and outdated sales prospecting techniques, instead of the effective practices that could actually lead to a higher volume of better qualified leads (and make them more partial to prospecting). Just like every other aspect of the sales process, you need to put in the effort and focus required.

Technique 101
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Solving the SDR Debate: Sales or Marketing?

Openview

It’s an age-old question: should SDRs report to sales or marketing ? Ask five people, and you’ll get five different answers based on individual experience and factors ranging from company stage to the SDR career path to the individual personalities and preferences of a company’s heads of sales and marketing. It’s a complex issue that is always evolving as the marketplace changes.

SQL 74
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1st, 2nd, and 3rd Party Intent Data: Which Is Right for You?

How do 1st, 2nd, and 3rd party intent data compare? 1st, 2nd, and 3rd party data each have specific advantages and disadvantages. It comes down to four factors: accuracy, cost, control and quantity. This infographic explains the pros and cons of each and helps you understand which one is best for meeting your business objectives. Intent data can be a great way to fill your pipeline and close more deals.

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Year-End Mistakes You Need to Avoid

The Sales Hunter

How are you looking to finish your year? There’s time left, but we need to be careful for fear of making a fatal mistake that dooms the year. A few years ago I was working with a CEO and his 8-person sales team to help them close the year on target. The CEO was blunt […].

Closing 83
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5 reasons you should dump your old CRM

Membrain

More and more organizations are coming to terms with the fact that traditional CRM has simply not lived up to its promises. Touted as a powerful sales performance tool, in many organizations it has turned out to be an unwieldy tracking and reporting tool, a glorified Rolodex that salespeople resent while sales managers wrangle to get them to use it at all.

CRM 85
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The 5 Biggest Sales Hiring Mistakes and the Top 5 Resume Claims That are Fake

Understanding the Sales Force

Image Copyright iStock Photos. I always enjoy reading articles that expose things I don't know about topics I enjoy, like 7 Unsung Built-in Gems in Mac OS X. I had the opportunity to provide that kind of training to a dozen or so sales leaders on some of the less obvious findings and relationships in Objective Management Group's (OMG) Sales Candidate Assessments and how to use them.

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Sales Reps are CRITICAL to Company Success

Score More Sales

Your sales reps – be they inside sellers, field sales, or otherwise are critically important to the success of your planned revenue growth for a very simple reason: A significant portion of the buying journey is done without sales involved and that won’t change.

Sales 79
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The Battle of the Authoring Tools: A 10-Point Comparison for Picking the Right One

Speaker: Chris Paxton McMillin, President of D3 Training Solutions

There are plenty of great authoring tools for developing eLearning, but the one you select could directly impact your course's outcomes. Depending upon your learners’ needs and your organization’s performance goals, you could be overlooking considerations that impact the both effectiveness of your courses and how long it takes to finish them. From general capabilities to specific workflow structures, some aspects are critical when it comes to learning objectives and deadlines.

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HubSpot’s Marketing Team Worked Remotely for One Week. Here’s What We Learned.

Hubspot

Think about the last time you were on a conference call with someone in a different location. Did you run into any communication challenges -- technical, or otherwise? Did you find yourself trying to speak up but failing to get a word in? If there were multiple people on that call, did you find that everyone was able to participate? Remote meetings are becoming increasingly commonplace.

Meeting 101
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The Biggest Mistake I Made as Head of Sales

Openview

I’d like to think we can all learn from not only our own mistakes, but also from each other’s. I want to share with you the biggest mistake I made in my career, and it happened to be as a co-founder and Sales VP. I was a co-founder of a software company called Open Environment. We developed middleware to help large companies connect various back-end systems.

Finance 72
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My First Public Event in 5 Years

Engage Selling

Never Ending Value, Evergreen Relationships, Lifelong Business How to create and employ customer and client strategies for continual business with your clients Alan Weiss and I are hosting a live event in February 2018 in South Beach, Miami to help you grow … Read More »

Clients 75
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3 ways your salespeople are multiplying by zero

Membrain

Grab a ten-year-old and they can remind you of this important math concept: Any number multiplied by zero, is zero.

Process 98
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How to Leverage Intent Data for Better Outcomes

Speaker: Susan Spencer, Principal of Spencer Communications

Intent signal data can go a long way toward shortening sales cycles and closing more deals. The challenge is deciding which is the best type of intent data to help your company meet its sales and marketing goals. In this webinar, Susan Spencer, fractional CMO and principal of Spencer Communications, will unpack the differences between contact-level and company-level intent signals.

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Do You Sell Confidence? If Not, You’re Not Selling!

The Sales Hunter

How confident are you in the outcomes you can help your customers achieve? After finishing speaking to an audience recently, I was approached by a salesperson who was seen by his company as a high achiever. This person had won numerous awards and was viewed as a rock star by his peers. Within a minute […].

Sell 79
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How to Lead the 4 Stages of Sales Negotiation

RAIN Group

"Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.". Warren Bennis, Author, On Becoming a Leader. When it comes to sales negotiations, all too often sellers: Don't plan for successful negotiated outcomes. Let the buyer define the negotiation process and venue. Allow the buyer to set the agenda for negotiation-focused meetings.

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The Ultimate Guide to Sales Qualification

Hubspot

One of the most important conversations salespeople have with their prospects is the discovery call. Here lies the proverbial fork in the road for you and your prospect. Either they’re a good fit for your product or service and you can move forward with the relationship, or it’s time to part ways. But it’s not always immediately obvious which path to take.

Sales 100
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5 Real-World Lessons On How To Start a Social Selling Program

SalesforLife

The LanguageLine leadership team made a decision nine months ago to embrace social selling. Very quickly, we understood that social selling is a permanent component of the sales landscape and that to ignore it would be perilous. It did not take long for us to grasp that our buyers have changed, and the majority of the buying journey is now completed before a salesperson even becomes involved.

Sell 69
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5 Inspiring B2B Marketing Campaigns to Take Yours to the Next Level

Your next big B2B marketing idea starts here. Get inspired with these five successful B2B marketing campaigns. Ready to generate more leads, interest, and revenue with your B2B marketing? In this comprehensive eBook, you’ll get: In-depth studies of five successful B2B marketing campaigns spanning a wide range of industries Key takeaways and lessons from each story to implement in your own strategy Resources to help your own B2B marketing thrive By submitting this form, you agree to have your con